


assisting the boss

by WattStalf



Series: Commissions [28]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bondage, Boss/Employee Relationship, Dom/sub, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Omorashi, Sex Toys, Spanking, Vaginal Sex, commission, who maybe catch feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 11:16:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20906777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Things couldn’t be better for Julia right now. She’s only in her mid-twenties, and already her start up company has achieved unbelievable success.With so much going her way, she shouldn't have anything to complain about, but as things are, there's one thing bothering her. Fortunately for her, her former mentor and current employee, Colin, has a solution to offer her.





	assisting the boss

Things couldn’t be better for Julia right now. She’s only in her mid-twenties, and already her start up company has achieved unbelievable success. At the company she previously worked at, she discovered her talent for business, and, when it became apparent that her efforts weren’t ever going to be appreciated, she made the decision to branch off and make things happen for herself.

Though she never got the appreciation she deserved from the higher ups in that company, those she worked with daily seemed to see her potential, and she had enough staff to start her business just from those who jumped ship with her, and recommendations for hires from them. Foremost of her supporters is Colin, a man in his sixties who served as a mentor to her when she was first getting started.

He helped motivate her to take charge of her life and was the first to agree to follow her, should she decide to leave. Though many people who have worked with him consider him to be a “work dad,” she knows that she owes a lot of her success to his emotional support and encouragement when she took big risks.

Now, it’s all starting to pay off. The latest project they got contracted for had the potential to make or break them, but success meant securing a permanent and valuable client. Everyone, Julia in particular, waited impatiently for the results, and when the news came in, it was favorable.

Everything is going great; she is at the head of an up and coming company that has finally gotten its foot in the door to expand and grow, she has a wonderful staff and the support she needs to move forward, and she is finally appreciated for all of her hard work. Things couldn’t be better for Julia and she should be overjoyed, so why is she alone in her office while the others are out celebrating their success? Why is she crying by herself, when she should be out with them?

Claiming that she still had work to do, she hung behind despite the nagging of her employees to come along with them. She deserved this more than anyone else, they had said, and were only satisfied when she promised to call and meet them if she had time when she was done. A few of the young men were disappointed, but it’s far from the first time that they’ve tried to get her to go out, either with the group or solo.

It’s no secret that she catches the interest of employees from time to time, and co-workers at her previous job, but she hasn’t dated since college. She had a fairly serious relationship with someone she knew in high school, but suddenly, without much reason other than “growing apart,” he’d ended things, leaving her hurt and confused. Since then, she hasn’t wanted to open up to someone enough to let them hurt her like that, and she isn’t sure when she’s going to be ready for that.

As a result, she’s considered cold, a cutthroat business woman with no interest in anything other than success. Perhaps that’s true, to an extent, but there are times when she still feels like the heartbroken student, unable to understand why she isn’t loved, and terrified of remaining alone for the rest of her life. And now, on what should be one of the happiest days of her life, her fear has caught up with her, and she sits at her desk, crying, when she should be celebrating.

Maybe she should have just gone and let herself get drunk and see what could happen with one of her employees. There are quite a few who would give her a chance, so maybe she should just take it. She wouldn’t have to feel so lonely, but at the same time, she knows that wouldn’t really work. If she were interested in any of them, maybe, but she isn’t, and even if she might grow to like them, is that really worth taking the risk of it all falling apart again? Being alone is awful, but is it really worse than getting hurt all over again? She isn’t sure, and so she’s stuck, usually able to distract herself with work, but sometimes…

This is how Colin finds her. He had meant to enjoy himself with the others, but he couldn’t help worrying about Julia not long after leaving to celebrate. With a reputation as the “office dad,” one that seems to persist no matter where he works, it’s no wonder that he’s so concerned about her, especially with how close they’ve always been.

And his office dad reputation does not always work in his favor, with a lot of the younger employees looking down on him for his age. He knows that, but he has never let it bother him, because he knows that Julia doesn’t feel that way about him, and she’s always been pleasant to work with. The two of them are close, and that’s why he works for her, so he has no reason to care about what anyone else in the company thinks.

She claimed to just stay behind for work, but something seemed off about her and he hasn’t been able to recall any work that was that urgent. Eventually, his worry took over, and he returns to the office to check on her, hoping that he can persuade her to join the festivities.

But he finds her at her desk, and though the lights are off, he can see well enough to see that she’s been crying. She attempts to straighten up and wipe her eyes when she notices him, putting on a brave face to hide it, but he knows what he saw.

“Did something happen?” he asks, closing the distance between them as he enters her office.

“N-no, nothing happened, I was...I was just about to call and head over there,” she says, very clearly lying. “Just had to finish up a few things around here.”

“Then what were you crying for?” he asks. He offers her a gentle smile. “Come on, Julia, don’t you know me well enough by now to know I can’t just ignore that? If there’s something on your mind, I’m happy to listen to you vent. I’ll even help, if there’s any way that I can.”

“It’s nothing to concern yourself over,” she mumbles, and he wonders, by her tone and the way she looks down, if she might be a little embarrassed.

“Whatever it is, I promise to hear you out,” he says. “It might make you feel better to get it off your chest, is all I’m saying.”

“I...guess that’s true,” she admits, pausing for a moment to gather her bearings. “The truth is, I’m...feeling a bit lonely.”

“Because you stayed behind?”

“Not just that. I wanted to go, but I also didn’t...I know celebrating with the group is the right thing to do, but if I were to celebrate any way I wanted, it wouldn’t have been...like this.”

“Ah.” Now it’s starting to make sense to him. “When you say you’re lonely, you’re talking about relationships, hm?”

“Something like that. I haven’t been with anyone for a long time, my last relationship ended really badly, and I haven’t felt ready to take that kind of risk again,” she explains. “But that doesn’t just leave me without emotional fulfillment, there are...other things that I miss out on, just because I don’t want to get close to anybody.”

He has a fairly good idea of what she means by that, understanding immediately why she is embarrassed to talk about this with him, but that only makes him more curious to hear the rest of it for himself. In fact, though he knows it might end up a bad idea, he wants to do more than just hear her out.

Blushing, she mumbles, “There are just times when I feel a little...sexually frustrated.” The last part of her sentence is said in a rush, but he can still make out what she’s saying. “Sometimes I just get tired of being the boss and looking after everyone and everything. Sometimes I just want to have someone there to take care of me.”

And there it is, his perfect in. He knows that if this doesn’t work out, it could ruin the close, professional relationship that they’ve had all these years, but still, he decides to take that risk. Colin thinks about how to phrase it before he says, “It sounds like you might want something casual, then.”

Surprised, she pauses before she replies. “Well, maybe, that does sound…”

“Not only that, but if you want to take a break from being the boss, you would want something where you could let the other person take complete control of you. Perhaps something a little more on the dominant side? Or maybe entirely dominant.”

Even more surprised, she stares at him. “What are you...what are you trying to say?”

“I want to repay you for all the kindness you’ve shown me over the years, in any way that I can. If this is what you need, I’m more than happy to step up to the plate,” he offers. “As a friend and business associate, of course.”

“Colin...you’re not seriously offering to…?”

“Only if you want to, but I think it could do you a world of good, and it’s always better to engage in things like that with someone you trust. For just a night, if you allowed me to take complete control of you, I promise to make it worth your while.”

“You...I’ve never...something like that is…” She doesn’t seem to know what to say, and looks a little bit scared by the suggestion.

“I would act as your service top,” he explains, “so everything would be for your pleasure. Things might get a little rough at times, but never rougher than you’d allow, and I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“I...never expected to hear something like this from someone like  _ you _ ,” she admits, and he chuckles, not surprised. Of course no one would suspect the kind and jovial old programmer to have secret, dark desires.

“It isn’t exactly something that comes up in the office,” he replies jokingly. “Definitely not an asset I include on my resume.”

He can see the conflict in her eyes, and it’s understandable. No matter how lonely she may be, there is a risk to accepting an offer like this from anyone, but particularly from someone that she shares the sort of relationship with that she does Colin. If she turns him down at this point, he won’t be able to say that he’s surprised, even if he will be disappointed.

“I…” She hesitates, trying to properly gather her thoughts before speaking. “If we were to do something like that, it would stay strictly between us.”

“Naturally,” he replies. “Any sort of relationship between coworkers should always be handled with the utmost discretion.”

“You sound like an employee training manual,” she says with a scoff, shaking her head. “Colin...if there’s anyone I could trust with something like...well, like this, it would be you. As long as it wouldn’t affect our professional relationship, I...would be willing to give it a try. At least once.”

Now, he can’t stop himself from grinning. Not only is he pleased that he will be able to help her out a little bit, but he’s excited to have someone to do this with. It’s been a while since he’s had any sort of partner, and he knows that the boys in the office have good reason for hitting on Julia from time to time. She’s incredibly attractive, and even he is not immune to such things. The two of them will have a great time, he’s going to make sure of that.

“Sounds great!” he says. “We can work out the details later, but for now, do you think you feel like coming back to the party with me?”

Julia hesitates before agreeing, but she seems to be feeling just a little bit better as they join the other employees. She celebrates with them for the rest of the night, brushing off any flirtations from those made a little more confident by their drinks, and Colin keeps to himself, feeling more than a little proud of himself.

~X~

They talk things out and make plans, and Julia doesn’t back out after she’s had more time to think it over, which is a good sign. He suggests they meet at her house so that she doesn’t feel trapped in an unfamiliar place, and he arrives that night with a large bag in tow.

Julia feels herself growing nervous all over again when she sees it, with no idea what he could have stuffed inside. She’s never thought about Colin in such a light, and when she asks what he has and he unpacks it to show her, she is stunned by the sorts of things he’s brought with him. The image she has of him, her kind mentor, begins to shatter as he reveals this new side to her, and she doesn’t know what to make of it.

There’s rope that looks a little silkier than ordinary rope, as well as a few sets of handcuffs. After all the items for bonding her, there are a few candles, that she has a feeling won’t be used for a candlelit dinner, and then a wide variety of sex toys, with vibrators and dildos of multiple sizes, as well as things that she doesn’t recognize, that she can only imagine the use for. Though she was curious, she now wonders if she might not be in over her head.

Noticing the look on her face, he chuckles. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to use  _ everything _ here. I just wanted to give you idea of what sorts of things we can do, and let you figure out what you like and prefer.”

“I-I see...well, I guess you can tell me how to start,” she mumbles.

“We don’t have to rush anything,” he says, glancing at her table, where she had a pair of glasses set out. “What’s all this?”

“I thought maybe we could have a drink before we got started,” she says. “Just to help me unwind beforehand.”

“That might be a good idea,” he replies. “I won’t turn you down if you’re offering.”

So the two of them share drinks, and for a little while, she tries to talk to him like she normally does. It helps take her mind off her nerves, but it is strange, talking to Colin like an old friend when there’s a pile of sex toys and bondage gear on her counter, that she knows he will be sorting through in a moment, as he decides what to do with her.

Neither of them get fully drunk, but she does relax a little bit, and by the end of it, she feels a little more willing to dive right in. When she asks him where they should start, he replies, “Well, if you would be comfortable with it, I’d like to try tying you up.”

There is still a part of her that is hesitant when she hears him suggest it, but with her inhibitions dulled a bit by the alcohol, and her desire to see where this could go winning out, she doesn’t fight it for long, and nods. “In my bedroom, then?”

“Lead the way,” he replies, hastily pushing everything back into his bag so that he can follow her into her room. There is another brief moment of awkwardness when they reach her room, with her not knowing where to go from here, until Colin suggests she undresses. She is so relieved to have something to do that she doesn’t worry about the fact that she’ll be getting naked in front of her employee and former mentor.

Not that there’s much point in worrying about  _ that _ , not when they’re already this far into things.

He comments on her appearance, making her blush when he tells her she’s beautiful. It’s been a long time since she’s had anyone look at her like that, and she isn’t sure how to respond, so all she says is, “What do I do now?”

“You can go ahead and lay down,” he replies. “I can tie you to your bed, if that’s alright with you.”

It sounds easy enough, so she does as she’s told, and allows him to bind her hands and feet, making it impossible for her to move. Briefly, she gets the sense that she’s forgotten something, but she chalks that up to last minute nerves upon realizing that she is now stuck in this position until he unties her. But this is Colin, and she made the decision to trust him, so she pushes that out of her mind, deciding that everything is going to be fine.

Colin kneels beside her, murmuring, “You really are very beautiful, Julia.” He places a hand just under throat, and she flinches at the sudden contact. But, as he moves his hand lower, she feels herself relaxing and growing warm. It’s nice, it’s so nice to have someone touching her, and she knows now that she had nothing to worry about.

His hand explores her body, lingering over her breasts long enough to leave her squirming with her arousal, before he moves further down, touching along her stomach and then, pausing just below her stomach, he leaves her holding her breath in anticipation only to be left hanging. She whimpers without even realizing it, surprising herself with the noise, and Colin chuckles.

“Have you ever used any toys before?” he asks, and she shakes her head. She’s thought about it, especially as her loneliness began to get the better of her, but she was intimidated by the idea of going into a store and trying to select something that personal in public. “Well, I have something that I think you might like.”

With that, he rises to get out one of the vibrators she had seen before- one on the smaller side, she’s relieved to see. Nothing too intimidating to start, and as he brings it closer, he presses a button to start it, pushing it against her thigh so that she can feel the vibrations. When she gasps he smiles at her, asking, “Do you like that?”

Even feeling it against her thigh is enough to excite her, but all she says is, “Yes, I...I’d like to try that.”

He takes his time, moving the toy around to the inside of her thigh, and then takes his time moving it up, and she swears she can feel the vibrations throughout her entire body. She doesn’t realize that she’s holding her breath until she gasps hard as he finally presses the toy against her cunt. Even the slight contact has her trembling, and he watches her reactions intently as he moves the toy until he is teasing at her clit with it.

The sudden stimulation is nearly too much for her, so intense that she cries out. And only then does she feel a sharp pang from her lower abdomen, and only then does she realize what it is that she may have forgotten before allowing him to tie her down. It’s no wonder that she would have to pee after drinking with him; alcohol always goes through her quickly, and there’s nothing she can do about it if she’s unable to move. Naturally, she knows she should just ask Colin to untie her and let her go to the bathroom. He gave her a word to use if things were too intense, so that he would know she was serious and wanted to stop, and that it wasn’t a form of roleplay. If she uses that word, he’ll untie her no matter what.

But she feels so good; once she’s grown used to the intense stimulation, she finds that she can’t stop moaning, not even long enough to consider asking him to untie her. It’s been so long since she’s felt anything even remotely close to this that she finds herself wanting to try to hold it for a little while longer, just so that she can enjoy this feeling. She’s already so close, and he’s barely done anything to her.

Just a little bit longer, she’ll allow herself to enjoy this until then, and, arching her back, she gives in and allows the pleasure overtake her. With a sharp cry, she comes, so overwhelmed that it takes her some time to recover. Colin doesn’t pull the toy back, which lends to prolonging her orgasm, but she doesn’t have long to simply enjoy herself.

Her bladder makes itself known again, with another sharp pang, and she struggles to stop a leak. Perhaps letting herself wait until she came was a mistake, perhaps she has pushed herself too hard as a result. She squirms, knowing that now is the time to ask Colin to put things on hold, but when she opens her mouth, she finds that she is too breathless to speak.

Gasping for air, she struggles against her bonds, trying to find some way to move her hand and catch his attention. “C-Colin,” she manages to say, “I think we should…”

“Hm? What is it?” he asks.

“I-I want you to turn that off,” she says, knowing that she will be able to speak more clearly without the vibrator sending shocks of pleasure through her. Belatedly, she realizes she didn’t use their word, but Colin switches it off anyway.

“Is there a problem?” he asks, with a little concern in his voice.

“No, not a problem, just…” She fidgets, suddenly shy about admitting what the problem is. Realistically, she knows she has nothing to be ashamed of, that she would have more to be ashamed of if she pushed herself too far out of a sense of pride, and she knows her own limits, and knows that she has almost met those limits.

But she still can’t think of how to say it.

Colin gives her a knowing smile before saying, “If there’s no problem, then we could always continue.”

_ No, _ she thinks,  _ no, we can’t continue, there is a problem, I’m at my limit, I’m not going to make it… _ But despite all of these panicked thoughts, she says nothing. She’s let her desperation grow past a manageable point, and she can just barely squeeze her thighs together, and she’s sure that if she were to stand up and try to walk, she would lose control right away. Panic washes over her, as she realizes that there is nothing she can do at this point, and no amount of alcohol dulling her senses can dull the horror of wetting herself during such an encounter, with someone she works with, no less.

“Julia, what is it?” he asks, and she can tell from the look on his face that he knows exactly what it is. But why does he seem no less excited, then?   
It’s worth thinking more about, but she can’t anymore, as she loses the last of her control. With a pathetic whimper, she gives up the fight against her bladder, and all she can do is close her eyes, so that she doesn’t have to face Colin as she completely humiliates herself.

It feels like it goes on forever, though it only takes her less than a minute to fully empty her bladder. Besides the humiliation, the overwhelming feeling of relief after suddenly realizing how painfully desperate she was is amazing, nearly as good as the orgasm she just experienced, and she doesn’t think that’s much of an exaggeration. There’s something about losing control unintentionally that causes an entirely different feeling of relief than if she had made it.

But, regardless of how good it feels, she now has to face the consequences. Slowly, she opens her eyes, to see Colin still staring at her, waiting for her. “I-I’m sorry,” she finally manages to say. “I was trying to say something, but it felt so good and I wanted to wait, but it had already gotten so bad, and then, when I tried to, it was already...too late. I’m sorry that I’ve ruined everything already.”

“Who said you’ve ruined anything, Julia?” he asks in a gentle tone of voice.

“Huh? But I must have, how could I not-”

“You’ve seen all the stuff I brought with me. On top of that, I was the one who suggested this whole thing, and I’m the one who tied you up. By now, you must have guessed that my interests aren’t traditional, so I’m not going to punish you for having a little accident,” he says, before winking. “That is, unless you  _ wanted _ to be punished.”

It is simultaneously too much and too simple for her to accept, but a stab of arousal tells her that she wants to accept it and, what’s more, hearing his comment about potentially punishing her only excites her more. Before today, these are things she never would have considered, but now, he is so easily unlocking parts of her that she didn’t know existed. So, rather than dwelling on the negatives of the situation, she decides to forget that for now, and embrace her new desires.

“I...I think I should be punished,” she finally says, and his face practically lights up at her words.

“Alright, then I may have to untie you for a little while, but don’t get any ideas about trying to run off,” he warns. “Remember that this is supposed to be a punishment, got it?”

His tone is firm, yet there is still that same gentleness that she knows so well from him. Again she is struck by how easy it is to trust him with something like this, and she allows him to untie her, moving however he wants her to, until he is sitting on the bed, with her draped over his lap. Knowing what’s coming next, she bites her lip, bracing herself in both anticipation and excitement.

“You’ve gotten the whole bed wet,” he says. “It’s honestly punishment enough to make you lay in it, but it’s getting me wet too, so I suppose you need more than just that.”

“I...I didn’t mean to,” she says, playing her part, and he chuckles.

“But you still did it, didn’t you?” he asks, before drawing back his hand and bringing it down with a smack. She squeaks at the sharp contact, with Colin hitting her just hard enough for it to sting. Julia hasn’t been spanked since she was a child, with no clear memories of it to speak of, but there is something about not only having it done, but having it done by someone like Colin, someone that she shares this particular relationship with.

It is an unusual time for repressed feelings to begin bubbling to the surface.

At the very least, she has no real time to think about that, because, though Colin starts slow, it doesn’t stay that way. Before long, he is bringing his hand down over and over again, never increasing the force by much, but always doing enough to keep her alert and prevent her getting used to it. Everything else begins to melt away, and she is no longer his boss, or even his former subordinate. She can only think of herself a girl who has stepped out of line and disappointed him, leaving him no choice but to punish her in this manner.

Though she cries out from the pain at times, more often than not she is crying out from pleasure, and he taunts when she does, asking her if she’s really getting off on her punishment, and does she realize that the point of a punishment is that she doesn’t enjoy it, and so on and so forth. She isn’t able to manage a response, whimpering when she tries to speak, but Colin seems to enjoy teasing her about it.

Until he suddenly stops, saying, “It’s not doing much good, is it? If you’re not learning a lesson from it, then it really isn’t doing you much good.”

“I-I’m not-”

“You don’t have to lie about it, dear. You’re not going to learn anything like this, so I had better tie you back up before you get more ideas,” he says, and she realizes that he is using this as a transition to move on to the main event. When she thinks about how much they have done so far, and the fact that they haven’t actually  _ done it _ yet, and that he’s focused entirely on her, she is surprised and impatient for more.

So she allows him to tie her back up, and this time, he unzips his pants once he has. She can see his obvious erection, and she could feel it when he had her over his lap, but now, he frees it from his pants, and she blushes, though she knows they’ve come too far for embarrassment at this point. And, having come once already, she finds that she’s very eager for more, and eager to really have him this time.

Colin climbs on top of her, his face softening as he does. “You’re ready, aren’t you?”

“I am,” she replies, just barely holding back from begging, just barely holding back from showing her true eagerness. Even if they’re past the point of embarrassment, she still has a little bit of shame when it comes to showing him how desperate she is for more.

Her bed has grown cold from the liquid that’s seeped into it, but she doesn’t mind the mild discomfort as he presses the tip of his cock against her, teasing her for a moment as he lingers there, not pushing forward. She whimpers, squirming beneath him, and he says, “Then just enjoy it, alright?”

And with that, with a light thrust, he pushes forward, entering her with a soft sigh. He must have wanted this quite a bit after waiting for so long, and that was with barely using any of the items he brought for her. She can only imagine how much more in-depth he could have gone, and as he finally begins to fuck her, she realizes that she definitely does not want this to be a one time thing.

Her thoughts about such things trail off at that point, as all she can do is raise her hips up against his, matching his rhythm as he thrusts into her. Everything up until now has been amazing, surprising her with how much she’s loved it, but  _ this _ is exactly what she needed. After all this time without a partner, she’s needed this so badly, but from now on...her needs might be a little different.

Whatever the case, it’s been so long, and she falls apart beneath him, crying out for him again and again, completely shameless in her desire. Though he starts slow, Colin is soon thrusting roughly into her, spurred on whenever she works her hips against his, taking it as encouragement to keep up the pace. That is how it is for some time, as Colin’s self-control persists and he maintains his composure while he waits for her.

He doesn’t have much of a wait, at least, because she is on the edge before long, even faster than when they began, when he was teasing her with the toy. There is a part of her that wishes that they could keep this up for some time, but she knows that she’s at her limit, and that they’ll both need some rest when all is said and done.

And then, before she can think about how much she’d like to keep going any further, she is overwhelmed, her moan coming out loud and needy as her orgasm overtakes her. Even more intense than the first, she is barely even able to register Colin’s control finally slipping, her own climax pushing him past his limit as he joins her, groaning as he does.

It takes her a bit to recover and come back to herself, but once Colin has caught his breath, he is already off of her, sitting up so that he can get her free. Julia lets him do most of the work, still a little out of it, the sound of her panting filling the room.

“That was...very nice,” she finally says, as he begins to untie her. “It was...I liked that.”

“Did you? I’m glad. I hope I managed to alleviate some of your sexual tension, and maybe even ease some of that loneliness.”

“Well…” She struggles to find the right words, and finally says, “It did help some, but I can’t imagine just once...I mean, soon enough, I’ll…”

“Ah, so you’re worried it’ll flare up again, right?” he asks, with a knowing smile. “If that’s the case, you know you can always ask me again. I know I would like that.”

She finds herself blushing at his words, and wonders if they should just leave it at that, or if she should be more open about what she’s been thinking. When she is free from her bonds, she sits up on her bed, contemplating her options. No matter what, she has the opening to continue this affair, but there’s more to it than that, and she’s sure that he knows that, that he can feel it too.

“I care a lot about you,” she finally says. “We’ve worked together for so long, and you’ve always been there for me. Even now, you helped me with something so...personal, like it was nothing.”

“That’s because I care a lot about you, Julia,” he replies. “You’ve done a lot for me as well, and you’ve always been a pleasure to work with. After all this time, I would help you with anything you needed, as long as I could help. Something like this, though...well, it was as much of a help for me as it was for you, if you know what I mean.”

Understanding his meaning well, she can’t help but blush. “Still, that’s...something. Doing something like that, I mean...it’s not something most people would take so lightly.”

“Who says I’ve taken it lightly?” he asks with a teasing smile, and she feels guilty, wondering if he’s taken that as an accusation when that isn’t how she meant it. “I would never take something so important lightly, especially not with someone I care so much about.”

“I don’t mean that you-”

“I know exactly what you meant, Julia, but I’m not sure that you know what I meant,” he replies. “When I say I care about you, I don’t just mean because of our work relationship. After all this time, is it so hard to imagine I care about you in a different way?”

So, then, he feels the same way, she realizes. Her feelings aren’t nearly as one sided as she would have thought, and this wasn’t just a favor to her, but a means of getting closer to her. With their work relationship being what it is, it’s difficult for either of them to fully admit to what is growing between them, but it has become a little bit easier as a result.

“I see,” she finally says. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’d like to take you up on that offer again. I don’t think one time is going to be enough to help me long term, but if you want to keep helping me, then I would greatly appreciate that.”

“As long as you need me, I’m sure we can work something out,” says Colin. “Besides, there are quite a few things we didn’t have the chance to try, that I think you might really like.”

Julia grows warm as she attempts to imagine what he could be talking about. “You’ll stay the night, won’t you? I’ll have to change the sheets, but you’re more than welcome…” She invites him both because she wants to know what might come next, and because she simply wants to spend the rest of the night with him.

“It is pretty late to be heading home, so thank you for the offer,” he replies, and he even offers to help her clean up, insisting that the mess is just as much his to deal with. Though there is no telling what will come in the morning, or when things might progress between them, she is happy with where things are now.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  



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